The taxi sector claims 2,000 million euros from the Community of Madrid for authorizing the VTC

One of the main groups in this field, the Professional Taxi Federation of Madrid (FPTM), has stated that it will request compensation for more than 2,000 million euros from the regional government “to alleviate the direct damage it will cause in the sector the new VTC transport authorization “.

They understand from this Federation that the authorization that the Councilor for Citizens proposes for VTC transport “equates the work of these vehicles to that of the taxi.” Among other points, as EL MUNDO announced this Monday, drivers of these vehicles linked to companies such as Uber or Cabify must necessarily undergo tests similar to those that the City Council requires of taxi drivers. In other aspects, there are manifest differences, such as the express prohibition that VTC vehicles can attract customers on the street, a possibility that is reserved for taxi drivers.

Julio Sanz, president of the FPTM, nonetheless believes that “the government of the Community of Madrid has decided to grant VTC companies compensation that translates into a four-year moratorium on working time, until 2022, in which they can continue to carry out urban and interurban transport; and the taxi, protected by the doctrine of the Supreme Court that recognizes the right to compensation to compensate the damages of legislative actions, will act accordingly “.

For his part, Garrido has affirmed that both taxis and VTCs can still introduce “arguments and considerations” that improve the regulations outlined this week. In an interview for Onda Madrid, the counselor has warned that, if the taxis are clear “that in essentials they do not agree”, they can go to court since “it is the place to defend things”.

The Garrido Department of Transport seeks to give a regulatory framework to the sector after the decree promoted by Josà © Luis à ?? balos, Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, leaned towards a transfer of powers to the regions.

According to the sectoral grouping, “the State has already compensated the VTCs with a compensation of between four and six years of moratorium, so if the Community of Madrid creates a new authorization that enters into direct competition with the service of taxi licenses, it must compensate the sector for damages caused in the past, present and future. ” Sanz considers that “the Community of Madrid has again confused freedom with debauchery.”

According to this Federation, the Community chaired by Isabel DÃaz Ayuso “has once again yielded to the claims of the big operators, not legislating until the last minute and ignoring the multiple requests of a sector on which more than 20,000 families depend directly and that feel abandoned, “said Sanz.

Garrido said on Monday that they are going to “establish conditions that balance the competitiveness between the two and detail a sanctioning regime that guarantees compliance,” said the orange councilor, a former member of the PP.

The FTPM, with more than 40 years of experience, brings together more than 6,000 taxi professionals and licensees.